Saturday, February 23, 2013

In my last post I displayed some new material pin-ups that appeared in Marvel's reprint titles. While going through my Marvel reprints (and indexing them for the GCD) I came upon another oddity, this time in a western comic.

Outlaw Kid # 2, Oct 1970. Herb Trimpe pencils; Bill Everett inks

The Outlaw Kid was one of a number of Marvel westerns of the period. Others included the Ringo Kid, Mighty Marvel Western, Kid Colt, Two-Gun Kid,Rawhide Kid and Western Gunfighters, the latter two were the only titles then including new material (Rawhide Kid, like Sgt. Fury, then included new material every other issue. Obviously using reprints was a cost savings). At this point Marvel was reprinting a chunk of its Timely-Atlas product, not only in the westerns, but also in Where Monsters Dwell, Where CreaturesRoam, L'il Kids, Our Love Story and My Love (which also featured new stories).

While going through my western reprint collection I came across a curiosity: a 2 page Outlaw Kid story that I was "certain" was pencilled and inked by Bill Everett. Doug Wildey was the primary artist on the Outlaw Kid stories of the 1950s, but Everett was also working for Atlas in the 1950s and my first inclination was to think this was a reprint from that era.

The page count was odd in itself. Most 1950s stories ran 4, 5 or 6 pages, with occasional 3 pagers, but this story was only two pages. The job number was also strange. The upper left side of page 1, panel one has the number 407-Z. I'm not an expert on job numbers, which were used in the production process of comics, but I do know they began with a letter first, then a three digit number, as in the reprinted Outlaw Kid story in this issue, "The Newcomers!" F-678.

My next step was to turn to my good friend Michael J. Vassallo, an expert on Timely-Atlas lore. I explained what I had found and he replied there was no such job number used in that period. He agreed it must be a new story. I sent him a scan and he confirmed that it was not a reprint.

Did I discover an unknown Everett story? The art very much resembled Everett's contemporary work. I checked on the GCD and they had Herb Trimpe credited as artist. Although I could clearly see Trimpe's figurework on the cover (which Everett also inked) I didn't detect anything that pointed to his pencils in the interior story. Everett was a very distinctive inker, but usually something noticable about the penciller remained. In this case I couldn't pick anything out. Jim Salicrup believed that Trimpe drew the story, but I remained unconvinced. Jim contacted Trimpe directly and he responded that he DID pencil the story, but there are occasions where an artist does not always recognize his own work. Trimpe was a busy artist in that period, drawing many covers and stories, so its possible he has made an error. My instinct still yells "Solo Everett", but there is no real way of knowing.

Further research proved that production numbers were used in this period, beginning with April 1970 cover dated issues and apprently ending with Nov 1973 cover dated comics. They were not always seen on the splash pages, likely for the same reasons they did not always appear in the past - they were covered up by art or lettering. Examples concurrent with the Outlaw Kid story include Captain America # 130 (340-Z); Silver Surfer # 18 (342-Z); "Did I Make the Wrong Choice?" from My Love # 7 (362-Z); Amazing Spider-Man # 89 (375-Z) and "Gargoyle Every Night" from Chamber of Darkness # 7 (377-Z). Need I add that these are all from original stories - reprints usually included the old job numbers on the printed comic.

So, why a new two page story in the Outlaw Kid? In this period Bill Everett was doing his share of inking at Marvel, especially over Marie Severin pencils*. The month Outlaw Kid # 2 was on the stands Everett inked the covers to Iron-Man # 30; Marvel Super-Heroes # 28 and Marvel Tales # 28. Everett was also probably coloring and writing the occasional script (on Sgt. Fury). so its entirely possibly that he produced a two-page filler for the Outlaw Kid. But Marvel could just as easily have filled those pages with in-house ads, so its still a mystery why new material was included. The only other place this could have been intended for was Western Gunfighters, a 25 cent title that featured a mix of new stories and reprints.

While the reason why this short story appeared in The Outlaw Kid # 2 may be lost to time, it remains another pleasant surprise hidden in the recesses of Marvel's reprint line. I hope I'll uncover more treats in the future.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

If you had the original comics you might have ignored Marvel's reprint titles, but occasionally new material surfaced, nestled in the back pages and appearing without fanfare. While a new story was occasionally noted, such as the Angel stories that appeared in Marvel Tales and Ka-Zar, there were also pin-ups that were used to fill up pages from time to time. Most of them were either taken from earlier comics or manufactured by using images from covers, splash pages, tee-shirts or vignettes from a variety of sources. The new material was likely discovered in inventory and used as needed. One such example is the Dr. Strange pin-up that was published in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics # 10, Aug 1967.

Well over a year had passed since Steve Ditko quit Marvel, so this was certainly not a new illustration. The copy on the right, likely by Roy Thomas, only noted that Dr. Strange (who had been in every issue of MCIC) was squeezed out of the issue and the pin-up was a little extra. But where was this pin-up originally scheduled for? There are two possibilities. It may have been scheduled for an issue of Strange Tales around the time that pin-ups were included throughout the line, circa Jan 1965 cover-dated issues. A Ditko Dr. Stange pin-up appeared in Strange Tales # 128, and perhaps this pin-up was scheduled for the next issue but was squeezed out for an in-house ad (one appeared in ST # 129). It's also possible that the pin-up was meant to be used in Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 2, which co-starred Dr. Strange. Whatever the case, it's truly a wonderful piece of artwork by Mr. Ditko and a treat to be found in a reprint comic.

Marvel Collectors' Item Classics # 21, June 1969, included another treat, a pin-up of Medusa by a new kid on the block.

Only four months earlier, a British lad then simply named Barry Smith produced his first work in the states, in a crudely drawn issue of X-Men # 53. Smith already had work published in Marvel UK reprints, Terrific and Fantastic, mainly pin-ups, as can be seen by perusing Kid's blog:

Smith rapidly improved, and at the time of this Medusa illo was drawing fill-in issues of Daredevil. The pin-up may have been produced as a work sample for Marvel, but whatever its origin it is an attractively designed illustration.

Marvel's western line continued for many years, although primarily in reprint form from the 1970s on. New material appeared in Outlaw Kid, Gunhawks, Red Wolf and Rawhide Kid.In the late 1970's a number of new pin-ups were included in the back-pages of various westerns.

Gunhawk pin-up from Kid Colt, Outlaw # 227, Dec 1978

Gunhawk was a short lived western feature that appeared in the 25 cent Western Gunfighters in the early 1970s. The title featured new tales of the Ghost Rider, Tales of Fort Rango, The Renegades and Gunhawk, mixed with Apache Kid and Wyatt Earp reprints. The pin-up here has a signature of Al Hartley and Sal Buscema, but I believe the pencils are actually by Werner Roth. Doing some research I discovered something interesting. Looking at the splash of the first Gunhawk tale, that stories credits read: Jerry Siegel (who did a litle work for Marvel in this period), writer, Werner Roth artist and Sal Buscema inks. The splash page, however, is drawn by Herb Trimpe, with lettering by Morrie Kuramoto, while the rest of the story is lettered by Jean Izzo. Apparently Roth's splash page was not considered dramatic enough, and Herb Trimpe produced a new splash. I suspect that someone found the unused splash page by Werner Roth and mis-credited the drawing to Hartley (I also don't believe Hartley was working for Marvel in 1970). The bottom copy reads: "Number six in a series--collect them all!!" Over on the Marvel Masterworks site you can see all the pin-ups, thanks to Turncoat. A few are taken from cover images, but there is new work by Arvell Jones and Keith Pollard (The Night Rider) and a very attractive Kid Colt pin-up by Alan Weiss!

Gil Kane produced a plethora of compelling, dynamic covers for Marvel's western reprints throughout the 1970s. I'm not 100% certain if this is a new drawing or one taken from one of his covers, so if anyone knows for sure please let me know. Kane's Rawhide Kid was a tough looking hombre, very much in the Jack Kirby mold.

Two-Gun Kid # 136, April 1977

Paty Greer Cockrum worked for Marvel's production department for many years beginning in the 1970s, coloring and occasionally pencilling. Here she contributes a drawing on the Two-Gun Kid in his final issue.

Rawhide Kid # 145, May 1978

Kid Colt, Outlaw # 218, June 1977

A 21 year old John Romita, Jr. drew these two pin-ups of The Outlaw Kid and Kid Colt early in his career. Romita Jr or his father may have inked the Outlaw Kid; Kid Colt in inked by veteran John Tartaglione. Romita Jr.learned his craft from his father and was inspired by other greats like Jack Kirby. His strong storytelling techniques have served him well over the years, and his art has graced many comics, including Iron-Man, Daredevil, X-Men and Spider-Man.

Kid Colt Outlaw # 223, April 1978.

Here is another pin-up by comic book legend Gil Kane. Kane drew a number of Ringo Kid covers duing its run, but this image appears to be new material.

The original Ghost Rider had a name change to Night Rider so as not to confuse anyone with that upstart with the skeleton face. Arvel Jones and Keith Pollard art.

Alan Weiss contributed this stunning image of Marvel's long running western star. Weiss was one of the many comic book fans who found a home in the industry, working for companies including Gold Key, DC and Warren, working in many genres, from romance and horror to superheroes and westerns. Kid Colt # 226, October 1978

Sub-Mariner King-Size Special # 1, Jan 1971

Finally, we close out with a real treat, a Bill Everett pin-up of a young Namor, included in the first Sub-Mariner Special, which featured reprints of Lee-Colan Sub-Mariner stories from Tales to Astonish. Other pin-ups were images taken from different stories, but this was new artwork. Was this originally intended for inclusion in Subby's comic? Copy possibly by Roy Thomas.

If I discover further reprint treasures I'll be sure to share them withing the pages of this blog.

Batmite has showcased an excellent array of pin-ups and special features over on the Marvel Masterworks site. Check it out:

About Me

For the 75 Years of Marvel book by Taschen I wrote captions, biographies and provided research for the 1960's and early 1970's era. My articles and essays have appeared in Alter Ego, Jack Kirby Collector, Ditkomania, Comic Book Artist, Comic Book Marketplace, Jack Kirby Quarterly and Marvel's Omnibus and Masterworks collections. I study artist styles and have indexed thousands of entries for the invaluable Grand Comic Book Database http://www.comics.org/